We publish this post as the Lake Fire still burns in our surrounding hills and forest in its second week. Designated as the largest wildfire burning in California at present, the Lake Fire has burned more than 38,664 acres and is 63% contained.
Last week, the fire burned the face of our beloved Grass Mountain and came within a half mile of our campus. When fire comes this close to the things we hold most dear, it gives us pause to consider: is fire a friend or an enemy?
Choice or Fate?
Wildfire is not new to us here in the Santa Ynez Valley. It’s so common that we now call summer and early fall “fire season”. In the last decade of our area's fire seasons, so much of our Valley and hills burned, yet one of the last major areas still left untouched were the hills that run east and west behind the school.
California Fire Crews had been assessing the land, and attempting controlled burns in our hills for three years running. Knowing that this was an increasingly high-risk zone, crews were finally able to coordinate a series of burns during our 2023-2024 school year around the Midland and Family School campuses. During these scheduled burns our campus was closed, and the Head of School, Julianne Tullis Thompson, coined them California’s version of a snow day.
In total, we had six burn “snow days” last year, and now as we gaze upon our charred hills, we could not be more grateful for this preemptive measure. The fire chief in charge of our section of the Lake Fire reported that the controlled burn areas gave the crews a much-needed fire break as the flames swept through the acres above our campus and the Midland property.
What this means to us, is that our schools were saved and that regardless of the inconvenience and impact of controlled burns, they are worth the effort when it matters most.
Fire and the Environment
A sentiment in our community over the last weeks is one of coming together and shared concern. There is certainly a lot to process around natural resources, evacuations, and community safety during a fire of this scale; but we also know that fire is a necessary and beneficial part of keeping our forests and wildlands healthy.
Fire happens for a reason. It is considered nature’s housekeeping as it burns away what is no longer necessary to the forest, namely dead or diseased trees and thick underbrush. Local Chumash ancestors used fire to clear and clean large, natural areas in anticipation of a more beautiful and fertile home for plants, animals, and their community.
Of course, fire has a different impact when factoring population growth, homes, and businesses, but not much has changed regarding the forests and wildland’s need for fire. Not only does it clean and clear away, but many varieties of seedlings cannot germinate into plants unless they experience extreme heat. This heat combined with the charred and carbon-rich soil, allows for an abundance of new life after the spring rains.
Looking Ahead
As always, we like to keep an optimistic outlook on every situation. This week the evacuation orders on Figueroa Mountain Road were lifted, and administrative staff have returned to campus to resume a normal work week. We are glad to report that the campus is safe and has sustained no damage. Only a few rooms smell of smoke and are now enjoying some fresh air as the sky above school turns back to blue. The ash and robust spider population are another story, and it will likely take a few weeks to clean up and get the campus back in order.
While the view of our blackened mountain range has been halting, we know that nature will prevail as it always has. We look towards next year and taking advantage of a fortuitous teaching opportunity. What plants will start growing first? What treasures will we see on our monthly hikes that we couldn’t see when the hills were covered with chaparral and sagebrush? We anticipate a glorious spring like we haven’t seen in many years. If history is an indication, a post-fire spring brings some of the most glorious wildflower blooms, and the fresh neon green of new tree branches and shrubs. Our hills are never more beautiful than in spring, and we have high hopes this will happen again next year.
As we wait for nature to recover in the months ahead, we continue to support the efforts to fully contain the blaze that is burning in the backcountry around Davey Brown and Sedgwick Preserve.
We send our deepest gratitude to the Fire Crews, first responders, and local community who continue to rally to keep us safe and out of harm's way. We are so impressed with the organization, cooperation and quick response that’s gone into this firefighting effort, and we will continue to do so until it is fully contained in the coming weeks and months.
To learn more about the Lake Fire, please visit https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/7/5/lake-fire.
For more information on the SYV Family School, please visit https://www.syvfamilyschool.org/ and follow along to see what’s happening around campus on our IG @thesyvfamilyschool.
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